“Tssssssst!”
I froze. There it was again!
“Tssst!”
This time, we all heard it. The cheering and frolicking died down so much I could hear the soft rustle of leaves on the ground as the wind scraped them against each other and swept them past us. The children’s dancing, vibrant lights on their reindeer headbands seemed out of place as everyone stopped dead. A flash of brown colors blinked from inside the Christmas tree.
Flap! Flap!
It burst out from the tree in a blur and tumbled on the raspy, cemented ground.
“Is that… Is that an animal!?”
As the realization kicked in, people panicked and were dashing around. Squinting through all the chaos, I located the poor little creature and rushed towards it, gently scooping it up with my hands. I held it close to my chest and tried to hide it from others. Slowly edging myself away from the mob, I studied the little creature that looked up at me with bulging pupils that seemed imprinted into a piece of amber.
Inhaling in awe, I realized it was a pathetic owl that would be instantly killed the moment anyone else saw it. It was probably one of the last of its kind, in fact, probably one of the few species that weren’t completely extinct. Almost all the species on Earth are extinct due to our 152nd Amendment. Animals were causing too much of a problem a long time ago. Although everyone else was brainwashed that animals were horrible, destructive creatures, I secretly admired the majestic creatures that seemed to come from another world.
The owl seemed like a Northern Saw-whet Owl, a pretty common owl almost a thousand years ago. I noticed that its wing was tangled with some lights, preventing it from flying away. My heart ached with pity for the owl and I gingerly untangled the strand of Christmas lights.
“There it is!”
The cry came from a woman, her eyes terror-stricken as she held a wobbling, slender finger pointing in my direction.
An officer next to her raised his voice. “Sir, I’m going to have you come here with the critter..”
Without taking a glance back, I hugged the owl tighter in my arms and sprinted away. Sirens started sounding after me and I could tell police cars were on the way.
I made my way down the street and carefully slipped the owl into my pocket before entering a cafe. As my heart pounded furiously, I heard the swerve of the police cars speeding by. Gasping with relief, I gently stroked the owl’s feathers.
“I’m sorry little guy,” I breathed silently. “It’s tough for you in a world like this. But you’ve got me by your side. We can become friends!” I paused, finally processing the fact that I could have a pet, like those in the tales that happened long ago. “We can escape to a forest, where you can be free. Hmm… free… I think I’ll call you Paquito.”
Written by Jiaai Lu from Sunnyvale, CA
